"Patty Amas" wrote in message
m...
Is there any such thing as a light bulb for outdoor lamp fixtures
(above garage and front door) that will not attract as many bugs
without using the yellow bulbs? I think yellow around the house would
look horrible.


Thanks so much,
Patty.

Night-flying insects are generally more sensitive to blue and UV
wavelengths, less sensitive to yellow and red, moderately sensitivity to
green. So, any light source that filters out UV, blue and, to some extent,
green should be less attractive to such bugs.

Yellow "bug lights" emit only yellow (and a bit of red) and so they have
been the traditional solution from the bulb manufacturers. But you can get
a similar result with better appearance very easily. Just connect a dimmer
to your outside light. As you dim the bulb, the UV, blue and green colors
disappear first leaving yellow-orange-red as a pleasing glow. Dim the bulb
30-50% to still have some light while eliminating the colors that the bugs
see. This technique works with any incandescent or halogen incandescent
bulb.

TKM